Which FPL stars could be rested after international duties?

Gameweek 12 signals the end of the November international break, in which over 200 top-flight names represented their nations.

Some popular Fantasy Premier League picks didn't feature, of course, having withdrawn from their respective national team squads due to injury. 

The pre-match press conferences will hopefully clear up some of these concerns before Saturday’s 11:00 GMT deadline.

However, another issue for head coaches may be the accumulated international minutes, long-haul flights and late returns of their players.

Late returns

Once again, representatives from the Americas were the last ones in action due to timezone differences.

Premier League bosses may be wary about starting such players, considering there could be some jetlag and fatigue upon returning to their clubs.

This line-up uncertainty is far from ideal for Fantasy managers in Gameweek 12.

For example, Luis Diaz (£7.7m) - who had been away with Colombia - was substituted after 60 minutes in Liverpool's first match back after the September break. A month later, he resumed with a place on the bench at Chelsea.

Below you can see the players who were in the squad for a match late on Tuesday night or in the early hours of Wednesday morning (GMT), and who have had long journeys back to England. You can also see how many minutes they played in their midweek fixtures.

Argentina
Location (kick-off time GMT): Argentina (Wednesday, 00:00)
Players (minutes): E. Martinez (90), E. Fernandez (90), Mac Allister (90), Buonanotte (0), Garnacho (0)

Brazil
Location (kick-off time GMT): Brazil (Wednesday, 00:45)
Players (minutes): Gabriel (90), Ederson (90), Guimaraes (86), Savinho (73), Martinelli (32), Paqueta (4), Andre (4), A Pereira (0), Murillo (0) 

Colombia
Location (kick-off time GMT): Colombia (Tuesday, 23:00)
Players (minutes): Munoz (90), L. Diaz (90), Duran (31) 

Ecuador
Location (kick-off time GMT): Colombia (Tuesday, 23:00)
Players (minutes): Estupinan (90), Caicedo (90) 

Mexico
Location (kick-off time GMT): Mexico (Wednesday, 02:30)
Players (minutes): Alvarez (90), Jimenez (89)

Paraguay
Location (kick-off time GMT): Bolivia (Tuesday, 20:00)
Players (minutes): Almiron (86), Enciso (45), Sosa (4) 

Uruguay
Location (kick-off time GMT): Brazil (Wednesday, 00:45)
Players (minutes): Ugarte (90), Bentancur (90), Darwin (45) 

Players at risk of being rested

Liverpool duo Diaz and Darwin Nunez (£7.1m) accumulated 180 and 135 minutes respectively but they, like Manchester United, play on Sunday rather than Saturday. There’s still a chance that pitch time is managed at Southampton, knowing huge matches against Real Madrid and Manchester City come straight afterwards.

Elsewhere, Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.1m) was handed 180 minutes for Brazil. But the good news is that he started matches following the last six international breaks, covering all of 2023/24 too.

Therefore, perhaps the biggest concern is over Raul Jimenez (£5.8m).

Jimenez's Mexico finished slightly after their South American counterparts. The Fulham forward is goalless in three Premier League outings, so there’s a slight chance that Marco Silva could opt for Rodrigo Muniz (£5.6m) against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The USA were in action 24 hours earlier, to the relief of Antonee Robinson (£4.7m) owners.

Meanwhile, Cristian Romero (£5.0m) has been ruled out of Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to Manchester City on Saturday after suffering a recurrence of the toe injury that forced him off in Gameweek 10 during the first of Argentina's two matches over the international break.

Total mins played by most-selected players

Of the 30 most-owned players in FPL, four were not representing their nations because of injury: Cole Palmer(£10.9m), Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) and Bukayo Saka (£10.1m).

Like Romero and Ezri Konsa (£4.4m), defenders Ola Aina (£4.8m) and Virgil van Dijk (£6.3m) returned to their clubs midway through the break.

Nottingham Forest’s full-back picked up a knock but there was seemingly already an agreement to send him back early, while a precautionary decision was made regarding the Liverpool captain, due to the Netherlands’ next Nations League encounter being a "dead rubber".

A further four players are fit but didn’t receive call-ups for various reasons. With Egypt already qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Mohamed Salah (£12.9m) was handed a valuable rest. 

Lukasz Fabianski (£4.0m) retired from representing Poland in 2021, while neither Emile Smith Rowe (£5.7m) nor Danny Welbeck (£6.0m) were named in the England squad.

Of the rest, eight were handed 180 minutes by their countries and Erling Haaland (£15.2m) was not far behind.

The Three Lions barely used Ollie Watkins (£9.0m), Morgan Rogers (£5.4m) and Dominic Solanke (£7.7m), meaning they should be fresh for Gameweek 12.

North London trio David Raya (£5.5m), Pedro Porro (£5.5m) and William Saliba (£6.0m) were unused on one occasion, with Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) not needed for Portugal’s second match.

To continue the positive news, Palmer has been pictured training with Chelsea and Brentford boss Thomas Frank has already said he expects Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa (£6.1m) to be ft for Saturday’s trip to Everton.

For more useful FPL information on the international break, Fantasy Football Scout’s round-up covers all 20 Premier League clubs in detail.